This invention relates to a fire extinguishing device, and more particularly to a fire proof or fire resistant blanket used to smother a grease fire and to absorb the grease which is the fuel for the fire. The fire extinguishing blanket is uniquely well suited for extinguishing small fires, such as grease fires in skillets or other utensils used in home and restaurant kitchens.
A wide variety of fire extinguishing blankets are known in the prior art. These include blankets having a fabric layer soaked with water and having an aluminum layer as in Pierce, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,617 for smothering the fire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,450 to Budmiger shows an unfolding glass thread fabric cover with handles. Other patents disclose devices which deliver a fire extinguishing material to the fire, include a nonwoven polyester sheet impregnated with a hydrous gel as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,320 to Romaine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,446 to Sayles shows a fire extinguishing chemical sealed in pockets between two layers. Knecht, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,317 smothers a fire with flame smothering or inhibiting additives such as an antimony compound between a double foil layer of polyethylene or polypropylene.
The prior art also teaches various types of sorbents for absorbing grease or oil in industrial settings. These are formed of a layer of polypropylene covered by an outer covering of porous polypropylene or Kevlar.RTM.. However, use of polypropylene as a sorbent for extinguishing a grease fire is inadequate. While such a blanket will not burn due to a Kevlar.RTM. fabric layer, the inner polypropylene layer will melt at temperatures of a grease fire.
There are many disadvantages of using a conventional household chemical fire extinguisher to extinguish a stovetop grease fire. They are bulky, expensive to purchase and recharge after use and difficult to manipulate and operate. Additionally, discharge of a chemical extinguishing agent to extinguish a fire on a stovetop is messy and may spoil other food in the area. If used incorrectly, a conventional fire extinguisher will make matters worse by allowing the fire to spread.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved device for extinguishing a grease fire which is easy to use and does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art devices.